Russian football is largely sidelined at international level these days, with UEFA banning clubs and national teams from their competitions in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Now, apparently, a change of federation is approaching.
The Russian Football Association is considering a possible exit from UEFA and a move to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). “The question of leaving UEFA is related to the decision of the European and world football governing bodies (FIFA) on February 28, according to which Russian clubs and the national team were excluded from international competitions because of the situation in Ukraine,” the state news agency reported Cup to that.
With the decision, Russia was excluded from the playoff games for the 2022 World Cup, and the country was also not included in the draw for the 2024 European Championship. In addition, women are not allowed to participate in the qualification for the World Cup in summer 2023, and the junior national teams are also excluded from competitions. The Russians are also not allowed to apply to host the European Football Championship in 2028 and 2032, and the men’s national team will not take part in the upcoming edition of the Nations League. Nothing is known about further future sanctions by UEFA.
The Russian plans are not new: “I think the time has come to seriously consider a move to the Asian Football Association,” state sports broadcaster Match TV quoted State Duma deputy Dmitry Pirog as saying in early May. The former boxing world champion, vice-chairman of the sports committee in the Duma, justified the initiative by saying that it was unclear how long Russia would be excluded from European football.
On the one hand, Moscow hopes that a conversion will give its football teams more competition practice, on the other hand, such a step should demonstrate that Russia is not politically isolated. Vyacheslav Koloskov, former president of the Russian Football Association, had already criticized the idea of ??a change of association in May in clear terms. “Personally, I am strictly against such a move because it means the final death of Russian football and we will never return to the European family either,” he warned. It’s a relapse into second-class status. “Then who should we play with?”
The national team has played three friendlies since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine: against Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. All three ex-Soviet republics belong to the AFC.